really tough doe
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: buckeye
03-Oct-18
I was lucky enough to take a nice doe opening morning at first light, shot looked and sounded great so I waited my usual half hour and took up the trail. Complete pass thru and good blood. After about 100 yds I bump her out of her bed, so I back off and wait another 2 hrs. I call my buddy and he helps me track her the next 300 yards where we come to the end of the blood trail. The pond. My buddy says "well she had to go around one way or the other " . I look out in the middle and there she floats. Relieved to have made a recovery I took off pants and boots, waded out and got her, field dressed and made a beeline to the truck. That evening we enjoyed the toughest backstraps I've ever had.The following evening I was hoping the first meal was a fluke so I cooked up some for the wife, same thing, she said that it was also the toughest backstraps she'd ever encountered. Now the pond was pretty cold and my thought were that maybe she cooled down too fast (does not make sense I know) . But I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this? Thoughts?
From: Rock
03-Oct-18
From: Feedjake
03-Oct-18
Where did you hit her? I don't think cooling down too quickly is an issue.
From: buckeye
03-Oct-18
Entry was right in the middle of the body and exit was the elbow. Took out stomach, diaphragm and destroyed one lung. Cant believe she made that far. Quartering away a bit.
From: TrapperKayak
03-Oct-18
Meat needs to season (cure) for a week or so n cold locker hanging, even if with skin n. Cooling her down fast was the best thing for it. But the meat needs to break down ('good' bacteria do this), just like a beef does or else it will be tough as tripe. You can cure it in bags in a cooler in ice if you do not have access to a meat locker or cool temps outside or in a garage. Never de-bone meat the same day and expect it to be tender. You can leave it on the bones for even better quality meat. Even the inside tenderloins will be tough if you do what you did with it. Good luck. TK
From: midwest
03-Oct-18
I always eat the tenderloins for breakfast the day after I kill but the rest of the deer hangs for at least a week.
From: GotBowAz
03-Oct-18
Wish i could remember what country does this but with all there wild big game they freeze, let thaw and refreeze. It is supposed to tenderize the meat a lot. Id like to try it once to see what happens. I have always been under the impression refreezing meat dry's it out. Maybe that's a wives tail??
From: buckeye
03-Oct-18
This is deer # 29 for me. Ive always quartered the day of kill then packed in a cooler layered in ice then taken home to debone and package in the freezer a day or two later . Never had one this tough.
From: elk yinzer
03-Oct-18
Bad shot, known to toughen meat. Same with butchering before rigor mortis subsides (cold shortening). There are two known factors. I also believe lactating does may be tougher, shoot them in a month whem they are fattened up and fully healthy. Freezing the meat should help, it seems to tenderize it a bit.
From: WFG in NM
03-Oct-18
Everything we kill gets wrapped and froze within a couple days. Never went out of my way to hang it and always enjoy the inside tenderloins for dinner the same day. Only tough elk we have had was an old cow.
--Bill
From: Proline
03-Oct-18
I have always wondered if deer that get shot and don't die fast lead to tough meat. Everyone I have had take a while to die seem to be tough.
From: TrapperKayak
03-Oct-18
I do know from experience that lactating does taste worse thn dry ones. Don't know about toughness. I have only had one tough deer and it was a big old blacktail buck. over 200# of chewy leather meat.
From: lv2bohunt
03-Oct-18
It was probably just that particular deer, the shot may have been a small contributor but I doubt it. I debone every deer when I skin it within an hour of killing it. I have eaten meat that same day numerous times without the meat being tough.
From: ScottyC
03-Oct-18
I killed an old doe years ago... we had her on the grill 30 minutes after I shot her. Like you said, toughest venison I ever had.
From: Boreal
03-Oct-18
A Jiccard tenderizer can help you with the tough ones.
From: Medicinemann
03-Oct-18
Boreal X 2....Jaccard Tenderizers are the bomb....get the model with three rows of blades, not just one row....
From: rooster
03-Oct-18
We debone our deer either still in the field or back at camp/home usually the same day as the kill. Never had a tough one. Also a lot of the does we've killed still had milk and yet not tough or a "worse" taste.
From: Deerplotter
03-Oct-18
Years ago my buddy arrowed a deer that ultimately swam across a lake 300 yds across and back after we spooked it trying to kill it on the swim over. When we finally got a killing arrow in it and fetched it out of the lake the stomach had already started to turn slightly green. When we poked in it with a finger flick it sounded hollow like a pumpkin. Tough as hell as you described. I think it was adrenaline that ruined the meat.
From: WV Mountaineer
03-Oct-18
As a self proclaimed professional cook, anytime you put meat in water its gonna be tougher. Had nothing to do with her cooling to fast.
From: IdyllwildArcher
03-Oct-18
A lot of this is just speculation. I bone out all my animals on site unless it's less than 100 yards to drag and it never is. Many of my animals have been boned out and gone right into the freezer and have been tender as anything else - I've done a number of deer this way. Personally, I think toughness has a lot more to do with the particular animal and its age. There's a reason they butcher steers at the age of 2. A 15 year old bull is not good for anything but burger.
I shot a 5 year old mountain goat last year and had it cooled down and stored in the cold for 5 days before freezing. Day 1 till the last bite of that goat was eaten, he was the toughest animal I've ever had - I literally had to slow cook the backstraps - even a thin steak was not chewable. Older billies are just known to be super tough - it's just the animal.
From: Elkhorn
03-Oct-18
I had a couple real tough moose, canning it was the best. Only way anyone would eat it. Chop it up and make steak and cheese subs just like subway.
From: weekender21
04-Oct-18
The doe I shot this year in NC was really tough, the meat had great flavor though. I'm guessing she was really old, most of the hunters in my area only shoot bucks. No telling how old some of the does are. Double lung shot put her down fast so that shouldn't have been a contributing factor.
From: cath8r
04-Oct-18